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Mile posts: Items on Biya Simbassa, Annie Frisbie, Matt Lorenz, Ean Caskey, Devin Allbaugh, Aye Devany

lance bergeson, des moines register
·5 min read

The Fourth of July weekend is a busy one for road racing, and this year was no exception, with several Iowa-based collegiate and postcollegiate distance runners and triathletes appearing in this edition of the WEEEKEND UPDATE.

Let's start with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race 10K in Atlanta on Independence Day. Former Sioux City North and Iowa Central Community College star Biya Simbassa finished 11th in the strong field in 28:48, a 4:38 pace per mile. The 29-year-old Simbassa is the reigning USA Running Circuit champion and Under Armour Dark Sky athlete now based in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Former Pleasant Valley High and University of Georgia runner Nicholas Yanek finished 27th in 31:15. Yanek, 27, resides in Canton, Ga. The men's winner was Kenya's Rhonex Kipruto, 22, in 27:26.

In the women's pro competition, former Iowa State All-American Annie Frisbie finished as the top American in 10th place. The Minnesota Distance Elite athlete residing in Hopkins, Minn., ran 32:22, a 5:13 pace per mile.

The 37th annual Fifth Season 8K race on Monday brought back prize money after a year hiatus, with the top runners collecting $599 for first place, $350 for second and $250 for third. The big winners were Matt Lorenz, 23, of Swisher, and Ean Caskey, 40, of Lisbon. Lorenz, a former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep and a 2020 graduate of the University of Iowa, was the overall winner in 25:25, a 5:07 pace per mile.

Caskey set an Iowa masters record of 25:44 for the 4.97-mile distance after running 25:44. Caskey eclipsed the previous record of 25:59, set by Iowa great Phil Coppess, 40, at Clinton's 5th Season race in 1995. Caskey, a Running Wild Elite athlete, already owns the Iowa masters 5K record, a 15:36 set at the Blazing 5K race in September of 2021. Finishing third was recent Linn-Mar graduate Hayden Kuhn, 18, of Marion in 26:12.

The women's winner was former Coe College runner Elaina Biechler, 36, of Dubuque in 29:55, a 6:01 pace per mile. Biechler improved 45 seconds on her winning time of a year ago. Lourdes Mason, 17, of Swisher was second in 30:53, followed by Deanna Newhouse, 23, of Cedar Rapids in 31:00. Newhouse was a Mount Mercy athlete this past academic year.

The winning time, despite the renewed prize money brought forth by the Corridor Running group, was the second-slowest in race history. Only last year's winning effort of 26:06 has been slower. The third-slowest winning time was 24:48. Only six times in race history has the winning time been over 24 minutes.

The 5K winner was Loras College athlete and former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep Carlo Dannenfelser, 20, in 15:55. Dannenfelser, who will be a junior in the fall, topped Andrew Bickford, 20, by nine seconds. Bickford, 20, is a former Cedar Rapids Prairie prep. Maddie Block, 22, cruised to the women's victory in 18:00. Block is a former Linn-Mar prep who will be running for Iowa this fall.

There were 354 finishers in the 5K, 313 for the 8K. Those numbers are down from 366 (5K) and 351 (10K) from a year ago.

At the 40th Genesis Firecracker Run in East Moline, Ill., Running Wild Elite's Devin Allbaugh led a 1-2 finish for the team by running 15:20 in the 5K race. Allbaugh is a former Pleasant Valley prep. Dan Froeschle, a former Davenport Assumption prep from Davenport, was another 11 seconds back. Wartburg College runner Dalton Martin took third in 15:47, two seconds ahead of Anthony Pena. RWE's Tanner Osing, a former Augustana College runner, was fifth in 15:55.

RWE's Kelsey Allbaugh was the women's winner in 18:53, topping Pleasant Valley prep Grace Boleyn by 21 seconds. Laura Thomsen took third in 19:24.

At Webster City's 35th annual Firecracker 5K on Saturday, Iowa Central student Aye Devany of Fort Dodge was the overall winner in 15:27. The sophomore-to-be and native of Katy, Texas, and Ethiopia tied for the 14th-fastest time in race history. Devany won by 1:19.

At Urbandale's 5.1-kilometer William Courtney Fun Run on Monday, current Northern Iowa runner Caleb Shumaker, 19, was the overall winner in 16:08. Shumaker is a former Tipton prep. Shumaker edged Panther teammate and former Urbandale prep Payton Marrs, of Urbandale, by five seconds in the race delayed by lightning by about an hour.

At Clear Lake's Freedom 5K on Monday, former Western Dubuque prep Ethan Hammerand was the overall winner in 15:41. Hammerand, who recently finished his senior season at Loras College, won by 30 seconds. Current Iowa State runner and former Charles City prep Kiki Connell edged Addison Doughan for the women's championship. Both Connell and Doughan, a current Clear Lake prep, ran 19:50.

Masters runner Nancy Foxen was the women's winner of the Freedom Run 5K in Grandview. Foxen ran 19:47 and won by nearly four minutes.

MISSING A TOP DISTANCE RUNNER OR TRIATHLETE?: Let me know at bergeson@registermedia.com.

Want to hear more about distance running in Iowa. Listen to my podcast here: https://anchor.fm/lance-bergeson8

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Mile posts: Items on Biya Simbassa, Annie Frisbie, Matt Lorenz, Ean Caskey, Devin Allbaugh, Aye Devany